Postpartum depression among mothers as seen in hospitals in Enugu, South-East Nigeria: an undocumented issue

Introduction: Postpartum depression is an uncommon and frequently undocumented issue that impacts negatively on maternal and child health. Methods: The study was carried out among mothers who attended postpartum clinics from two teaching hospitals and three private hospitals all in Enugu metropolis. The instrument employed for data collection was a structured self-administered questionnaire developed from the Edinburgh Postnatal depression Scale. The families were assigned socio-economic classes (SEC) using the recommended method (modified) by Oyedeji. The objectives of this study was therefore aimed to highlight the pattern and prevalence of post-natal depression among mothers in Enugu, south east Nigeria. Results: A total of 214 mothers attending postpartum clinics were recruited in this study. The prevalence of postpartum depression from this study is 22.9%. There are no significant association between socio-demographics of mother and depression, age (p= 0.556), educational level (p= 0.667), occupation (p=0.494), parity (p= 0.823) and mode of delivery (p= 0.760). Conclusion: This study has shown that the prevalence of postpartum depression in Enugu, south east Nigeria is 22.9% which is comparable to that obtained in African continents. We noted no significant associations between socio-demographics of mother, age, educational level, occupation, parity and mode of delivery and depression. Pan African Medical Journal 2016; 23